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Last year, 438 mumps cases were reported nationwide. As of yesterday, the combined tally in three central Ohio counties had surpassed that figure, but local health officials think the outbreak is waning.

“We’re definitely seeing a decrease on a weekly basis,” said Dr. Mysheika Williams Roberts, the medical director and assistant health commissioner at Columbus Public Health. “We feel the worst of this outbreak is over.”

Delaware County has not had a reported mumps case since May 20, said Kelsey Sommers, a multimedia specialist with Delaware General Health.

Franklin County “continues to have a few cases here and there,” Health Commissioner Susan Tilgner said.

Franklin, Madison and Delaware counties have had a combined 439 reported mumps cases this year, according to Columbus Public Health. It’s the largest outbreak in the area since 1979, when 926 cases were reported in Franklin County and four in Madison County.

The first known case associated with this year’s outbreak came to light in early January.

Nationwide, there have been 807 mumps cases in 25 states this year, said Jason McDonald, spokesman for the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The most mumps cases the country has seen in recent years was 6,500 in 2006. McDonald said several hundred mumps cases are reported in the U.S. in a typical year.

But the magnitude and spread of mumps in central Ohio this year show that the cases are “not just a small, little outbreak,” Roberts said.

Updated vaccinations are essential to keeping mumps at bay, Tilgner said. “As long as people don’t get vaccinated, we’ll have cases to be concerned with.”

In addition to updating vaccinations, avoiding contact with others when ill is one of the easiest ways to keep the disease under control, Roberts said.

The mumps virus is spread by mucus and saliva droplets in the air and on surfaces. Symptoms can include swollen salivary glands, fever and aches. The disease can lead to deafness in rare cases.